Yesterday

Robert DufferSpecial to the Tribune

The place: Just west of Wrigley Field is a yellow one-story shack from the late 19th century that appears to be slanting into the pages of history. Named after the Beatles song, Yesterday welcomes with the sign “Where the Past Meets the Present.” The same could be said of owner Tom Boyle, a pop culture trivia buff and collector who has owned the sports and pop memorabilia landmark since 1976. “We don't have a space machine to go back in time, but you can come in here and pick something up to be reminded of a better time, maybe,” says Boyle, who weaves bits of trivia and Americana into our conversation. A true collector, Boyle says, cares less about monetary value than the place an item takes in his heart. From bobbleheads to Norman Rockwell's covers for the Saturday Evening Post, Yesterday has a rich time capsule of collectibles. Original newspaper clippings from World War I decorate the walls, and memorabilia lovers can sift through 1950s wrestling magazines, back issues of Mad, Playboy, Colliers and Life, unopened baseball cards from the 1990s, political buttons, and iconic images of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, Ryne Sandberg and Mickey Mantle.